Prepositions are function words like "to", "over", "through", "in".
2
votes
1answer
195 views
“Call” vs. “Call at”
Consider
I will call your office some time in the evening.
vs.
I will call at your office some time in the evening.
Which is correct — the version with 'at', or the version with no ...
0
votes
2answers
333 views
“Used to” or “used for”? [closed]
To me, "used to" and "used for" are incompatible, as shown in the examples below. However, I am unable to substantiate this. MS Word doesn't "see" the differences, so I turned to "Essential grammar in ...
0
votes
2answers
75 views
Student in or of a virtual school?
Should it be
A student of ABC College is required to ...
A student in ABC College is required to ...
A student from ABC College is required to ...
In addition, if the "ABC College" is ...
3
votes
2answers
353 views
Can two prepositions be used one after the other? [closed]
I am in doubt about my sentence. I am trying to describe around 73% accuracy that can be obtained using a mentioned method. So, I have written:
The study of Sen et al (2012) has shown that a tree ...
1
vote
8answers
212 views
Is this usage of 'for which' correct?
I recently typed the following to a friend in an email:
Last night I went to the theatre to see a play with X. Before that, we went for dinner at a nearby pub for which my cousin came along.
Now ...
0
votes
2answers
294 views
“Translated in” vs. “translated to”
Both of these seem very similar to me. Is there any difference between "books translated to English" and "books translated in English"?
Google search returns many results for both (> 400,000), though ...
2
votes
3answers
437 views
Is it okay to say “in their own terms”?
As far as I know, it is valid to say "they can produce music on their own terms" when you want to say that a group can produce music without having to answer to anybody but themselves.
Is it also ...
2
votes
2answers
142 views
Over or under half price
If something normally cost £300 and someone is selling exactly the same item for £100, is this:
over half price
under half price
Does it depend on context or is either correct?
...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
Is it “on top of sth” or “in top of sth”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it correct to say “the bird is in the tree” or “on the tree”?
I have always been inclined to use the preposition "on" rather than "in" but I've come across a usage ...
5
votes
4answers
184 views
Is “of” indispensable to the sentence, “’Is it true,’ asked Josef of his mother ‘that he is not our brother?’”
To non-native English speakers, usage of preposition is always a headache. When I consulted the definition of “of” with an English Japanese dictionary at hand, it gives 16 different patterns of usage ...
4
votes
3answers
239 views
Has the use of these prepositions evolved?
I have been working with an extract from an 1861 newspaper (in Queensland, now part of Australia) concerning an act of mass insubordination by seamen.
The text reads
The whole of the men, I am ...
2
votes
2answers
87 views
“Within the range of values from the literature” vs. “within the range of values in the literature”
Which is better English (if either)?
The results are within the range of values from the literature.
The results are within the range of values in the literature.
0
votes
0answers
285 views
When to use the preposition “on”? [closed]
How do I know when I must use 'on?'
For example, 'on Windows.' Why can't we use 'in' before 'Windows'?
Is there any rule?
1
vote
1answer
110 views
The difference between “being with a company” and “being from a company”
Some people leave voice mail like:
hi, this is John from ABC Systems...
and sometimes I can hear people say
Hi, that's John with ABC Systems...
I'm curious which one is the right form to ...
3
votes
3answers
99 views
“Run on an OS” vs. “run under an OS”
What is the correct way to specify the operating system you are targeting or using?
Is a program running on or under an operating system (OS)?
Is a machine running an OS or under an OS?
4
votes
1answer
547 views
“For no other reason than” vs. “for no other reason that” vs. “for no other reason than that”
I am looking for a comprehensive analysis of these three constructions:
... for no other reason than X.
... for no other reason that X.
... for no other reason than that X.
Which is ...
1
vote
1answer
170 views
Using “in” and “with”
Although I know the clear meaning of commonly used prepositions in English, sometimes, I'm a little confused with them and cannot understand the difference between them. A week or so ago, I asked a ...
0
votes
5answers
51 views
Is using “get on developing” correct in this phrase?
You could get on developing this project and help me to add more features to that.
1
vote
2answers
181 views
“Sorting on” vs. “Sorting by”
Recently asked a question of a colleague:
Are you sorting this list by acronym?
He responded:
Yes, I’m sorting on acronym (ascending).
Emphasis mine in each case.
Is one correct and not ...
1
vote
0answers
158 views
“To mistake X as Y” vs. “to mistake X for Y” [closed]
I'm not sure what the correct preposition choice would be in this instance.
Don’t mistake a moment in the journey as your final destination.
Don’t mistake a moment in the journey for your final ...
13
votes
4answers
647 views
Why “half past” and not “half to”?
When telling time and 30 minutes has gone past an hour, we say “half past”. For instance, half past 4 or half past 5.
Why can’t we also say “half to”. For instance, half to 5 or half to 6?
Shouldn’t ...
2
votes
2answers
119 views
Solution of/to/for equation
A recent question to when to use of and when for/to for solution suggested that of appears only in context of chemistry, and the word means something very different then. But I recalled almost ...
1
vote
1answer
99 views
“Access to…” or “access of…”?
Translating a title of a paper from another language, I’m debating between
Remote Access to a Computer System
Remote Access of a Computer System
This is a title, so it should stand on its own, ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
Skill-set is not common in or on
I've written the following sentence but after reading it, it sounds to me like it's wrong.
The skill-set for iOS and Android development is not common in the current team.
Is it correct to say ...
0
votes
1answer
162 views
“Opposite the mall” vs. “opposite to the mall” [closed]
The new showroom that he has put up is opposite the central mall.
I have doubts about the grammaticality of this sentence. According to my understanding, it should be:
The new showroom that ...
0
votes
5answers
83 views
Meaning of “running off” in this context [closed]
I do not understand the use of "run off" in the following sentence. Neither was I able to find any explanation so I guess it is not a phrase?
If your generator (software) was running off a ...
0
votes
4answers
111 views
“Book time off for some days”
I want to book some past days as time off via a time tracking system, and there is a reply message:
Cannot book time off for past days.
(Meaning that I should have booked time off before ...
6
votes
5answers
6k views
Difference between “at” and “in” when specifying location
I am used to saying "I am in India.". But somewhere I saw it said "I am at Puri (Oriisa)". I would like to know the differences between "in" and "at" in the above two sentences.
0
votes
2answers
281 views
Preposition choice: impression “of”/“about”/“from”
Please advise me on what preposition I should use to be sure that I don't make a grammar mistake. This is a question in a company's questionnaire, where the customer is asked his opinion about the ...
3
votes
2answers
187 views
Can the phrase “be necessary to” only be used on people?
My teacher told me that the phrase be necessary to can be used only on people. For example,
Something is necessary to someone.
Assuming she is correct, then this following sentence, the one I ...
-1
votes
2answers
854 views
“To work for” vs. “to work in” vs. “to work at” [closed]
Is the preposition in universal in conjunction with the verb ‘to work’ and can it be used with any organizations and businesses?
For example:
He works as a cook in a local hotel near here.
...
-2
votes
1answer
189 views
Prepositions “in”/“of”/“on”/“by” [closed]
Which prepositions are correct in the following sentences?
You'll gain useful experience in/by working with computers.
Our teaching in/of science is fairly poor.
Jane is friendly with a ...
1
vote
1answer
157 views
Multiple “in”s in a sentence [closed]
I always wonder whether the sentences which contain multiple *in*s are proper / a good practice. For example,
Edit
Ok. May be it was a bad example. Sorry about that. But it's a real question.
I ...
-1
votes
2answers
394 views
“Prospects of” or “Prospects for” a new project?
The title more or less says it all. In particular, I'm considering the title of a presentation or short article. I'll say that it's a discussion of new discoveries that might come from pursuing a ...
-1
votes
2answers
119 views
“Under your sight” [closed]
I'm thinking about a motto (slogan) for a company which is trying to give its customers a complete view of the market. I'm thinking of this motto:
Everything, Everywhere, Under your sight
Is it ...
17
votes
3answers
968 views
“Make something out of” or “Make something with”?
So there was a fill in quiz I had to do, and there was a question it says:
Bill can make a doghouse _ paper. That's cool.
I filled in 'out of'.
Bill can make a doghouse out of paper.
And ...
4
votes
2answers
282 views
Difference between “stick with” and “stick to”?
The more I think about it the more confused I get:
One good example is here:
Hmm. Maybe something like this. It's the end of the day and things
didn't go well. We're meeting to talk about what ...
-3
votes
1answer
73 views
“Time of” something, “time for” something, or something else?
I'd like to make a sentence like this:
The time for the exam will run out soon, I have to speed up my problem solving.
By the way, how to express "speed up my problem solving" in a more ...
4
votes
2answers
326 views
What is the difference between “apart”, “except”, “other than” and “besides”?
Do the following phrases have the same meaning or are there differences?
Fortunately, apart from a broken toe, she was not badly hurt after the car accident.
Fortunately, except for a broken ...
0
votes
2answers
59 views
Structure of “the talk was of 'smart' sanctions” [closed]
From an article named "Iran’s nuclear programme: A red line and a reeling rial":
SIX YEARS ago, when America and Europe were putting in place the first raft of measures to press Iran to come clean ...
1
vote
2answers
105 views
“Request sample documents for which to follow” vs. “from which to follow” [closed]
I am editing a document that has the following sentence:
If there are no brand standards published regarding logo use and colors, the team will request sample documents for which to follow.
The ...
3
votes
1answer
271 views
Etymology of the phrase “cannot see the forest for the trees”
How did this phrase originate grammatically? I’m especially interested in the fragment “for the trees”.
See http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/see_the_forest_for_the_trees for its definition.
2
votes
1answer
141 views
“The time of/into/in/by your watch” [closed]
What is the time _ your watch?
of
into
in
by
Which preposition is correct?
0
votes
1answer
599 views
Prepositions: “upon” vs. “after”
Despite having heard enough times already that upon is an archaic version of the on preposition, I'm still struggling to thoroughly understand its meaning and usage.
In the quoted sentence, ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
“Accountability over” or “accountability for”?
I want to talk about "teacher accountability __ their work within the classroom". I'm not sure which preposition follows accountability, for or over.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
3
votes
2answers
236 views
Why do we use “accessible to” instead of “accessible from”? [closed]
I wonder why we use "accessible to" as a meaning of "can be accessed from", for example, "How to Make Your Blog Accessible to Blind Reader".
It makes more sense to me when using 'accessible from'. Is ...
3
votes
3answers
434 views
Preposition: “[In] Which city are you located [in]?”
In which city are you located?
Which city are you located in?
Which city are you located?
I know the first is grammatically correct, and the second used frequently in conversation, but ...
5
votes
3answers
249 views
When can “very” modify a prepositional phrase?
In Hamlet, when Hammy Jr. asks Polonius whether a cloud looks like a whale, Polly replies,
Very like a whale.
In contemporary English, however, "very like ..." feels ungrammatical. You instead ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
“Go by foot” vs. “go on foot” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“London By Foot” vs. “London On Foot”
This is a very simple question, yet I did not find anybody that could give me a satisfactory answer. I ...
2
votes
0answers
138 views
What preposition goes after “directed”? [closed]
Is there a comprehensive explanation of which prepositions I should use with directed, and why?
directed at
directed to
directed on
directed onto
directed in
directed into
directed toward
directed ...
